The Standing and Significance of Al-Baqīʿ for the Ilkhanids

To compete with the Mamluks of Egypt, the Ilkhanids took into account the propensity towards Shīʿism (independent of other cultural variables affecting this topic) and tried to develop their influence and control over the Hejaz. Because of its position in the Hejaz and the special attention the Shiites paid to it, al-Baqīʿ Cemetery was seen as the link between these two pivots in the Ilkhanids’ religious policy. This research uses a descriptive-analytical approach to assess the role and significance of al-Baqīʿ in the Ilkhanids’ religious policy. The findings reveal that al-Baqīʿ gained prominence in the Ilkhanid court because of its propensity for Shīʿism and the shared belief with the Sharifs of Medina. This attention was due to the definitive attribution of Hazrat Zahra’s burial site to al-Baqīʿ and the extension of the name of al-Baqīʿ to all of Medina in the historical accounts of the time that went on by the construction of public buildings and tombs in Medina and the burial of Amirchoupan and his son, Cholukhan, as two of the elders of the Ilkhanid court, in al-Baqīʿ.